From the BCCT.
Business administrator gives bleak financial outlook
By RACHEL CANELLI
So far, the New Year has brought no new money to the Neshaminy School District.
A little more than a month after his first public budget report, business administrator Joseph Paradise Tuesday night once again emphasized a bleak forecast with no sign of relief.
Mirroring the dire financial state of the nation as well as businesses and families across the country, Paradise projected that while expenses continue to rise, revenues are flaccid.
Although he did not reveal specific dollar amounts, Paradise said the 2009-10 spending plan is expected to increase by roughly 4.9 percent over the current $163 million working budget. The jump is mostly due to growing health insurance costs and that’s without a new contract for the teachers, officials said.
Revenues, though, including property and business taxes, are down about $2.7 million, Paradise said.
“Revenues are weak to say the least,” he said. “[They’re]...falling through the floor...the faucet kind of stopped a month or two ago. I’m not saying it’s going to be challenging in July — it’s challenging now. We know we’re not going to get rescued in any way shape or form from the state.”
Last year, the board voted to use $3.5 million of the district’s fund balance, or savings account, to balance the budget. That would leave around $1.2 million — if that — to help this year’s so far estimated $14 million hole, according to Paradise.
Neshaminy could see monies from renting the Tawanka Learning Center to the Bucks County Intermediate Unit No. 22 and Neshaminy Middle School. Both of those possibilities will be discussed later this month.
The district could see potential savings when the ninth grade moves up to the high school this fall, but it’s too early to tell, said Paradise.
“It’s a work in progress,” Paradise said. “It’s messy at times. We’ve got a lot of work in front of us.”
So far, officials’ suggestions to fill the gap include possibly requiring students to pay for extra curricular activities, and eliminating lead teacher positions.
According to state tax law Act 1, Neshaminy is allowed to raise taxes by 4.1 percent, officials said.
Board member Frank Koziol asked for the public to provide feedback. Administrators will discuss ideas during a meeting next week. Board member Rick Eccles asked that the district implement a hiring freeze, consider an earned wage tax, and ask the bargaining units to voluntarily provide “give-backs.”
Louise Boyd, president of the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers, was present at the meeting, but declined to comment on Eccles’ request.
While the budget data currently remains confidential, the information must be made public on or before Jan. 29, administrators said.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Speed Limit: 4.1%
From the BCCT.
Act 1 limits most districts to 4.1 percent tax hike
School boards have until the end of January to determine whether they need to raise taxes more than their district’s index.
By JOAN HELLYER
Most school districts in Bucks and Eastern Montgomery counties will be allowed to raise property taxes 4.1 percent in the coming school year without seeking voter approval during the May primary.
Act 1, the state’s property tax relief law, includes an index rate for districts to adhere to when imposing property tax increases. Should a school board want to exceed its district’s state-determined index, it has to get voter approval in the primary election. So far that hasn’t happened.
A district’s index is determined by averaging the statewide average weekly wage with employment cost index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to state officials.
Bristol can increase its tax rate 5.3 percent and the Bristol Township tax rate can be increased 5.2 percent before voter approval is needed. All other area districts have to keep their tax increases to 4.1 percent or less.
The 2009-10 index is between threetenths and sixth-tenths of a percent less than the index for the current school year. District officials have cautioned school boards in early budget reviews that the index is likely to go lower in subsequent years.
A former state representative credits the indexes with reigning in increasing property taxes.
Prior to 2006 when Act 1 was established, the average property tax increase statewide was about 5 percent, said David Steil, a former state representative from Lower Makefield.
That average appears to be declining, Steil said.
The former lawmaker sees early indications of benefits from the relatively new tax relief law.
“Districts are more cognizant of how their money is being spent and where the expenditures are,” Steil said.
As has been the case for the past couple of years, Bristol Township officials are suggesting all district expenses can be covered with a tax increase lower than the index rate.
“We budget wisely and tightly,” explained Superintendent Ellen Budman. “We listen to our community and we empathize with all that they are going through during these difficult economic times.”
The Bristol Township school board is set to adopt a resolution next week promising to keep the increase below the index.
But not all area districts are so sure they will be able to stay below their state-determined index. Bristol and Bensalem, for example, are looking for ways to trim their projected tax rate increase, which initially exceeded what is allowed by the state.
School boards have until the end of January to decide if they need to raise taxes above the index. If they don’t, they have to say so in a resolution. If they do need to go above the index, they have to put the referendum on the May 19 ballot.
A point of contention for many taxpayers in recent years has been that a district’s actual tax rate increase can be more than the index when school systems claim exemptions for some expenses. Those exemptions include previously approved contracts and special education costs, according to Act 1.
The exemptions could potentially add one or more percentage points to the rate of increase allowed in a district’s millage rate.
Steil, the former lawmaker, said the exemptions are needed and they are fair.
“You want the school districts to be responsible for what they can control. Those areas [covered by the exemptions] they cannot control,” Steil said.
He said residents tired of property tax increases need to give Act 1 a chance to work at controlling district spending habits.
“I’m very confident if you will look at the average increases in spending in the five years following Act 1 and compare them to the five years preceding Act 1, you will see some significant changes,” Steil said.
Act 1 limits most districts to 4.1 percent tax hike
School boards have until the end of January to determine whether they need to raise taxes more than their district’s index.
By JOAN HELLYER
Most school districts in Bucks and Eastern Montgomery counties will be allowed to raise property taxes 4.1 percent in the coming school year without seeking voter approval during the May primary.
Act 1, the state’s property tax relief law, includes an index rate for districts to adhere to when imposing property tax increases. Should a school board want to exceed its district’s state-determined index, it has to get voter approval in the primary election. So far that hasn’t happened.
A district’s index is determined by averaging the statewide average weekly wage with employment cost index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to state officials.
Bristol can increase its tax rate 5.3 percent and the Bristol Township tax rate can be increased 5.2 percent before voter approval is needed. All other area districts have to keep their tax increases to 4.1 percent or less.
The 2009-10 index is between threetenths and sixth-tenths of a percent less than the index for the current school year. District officials have cautioned school boards in early budget reviews that the index is likely to go lower in subsequent years.
A former state representative credits the indexes with reigning in increasing property taxes.
Prior to 2006 when Act 1 was established, the average property tax increase statewide was about 5 percent, said David Steil, a former state representative from Lower Makefield.
That average appears to be declining, Steil said.
The former lawmaker sees early indications of benefits from the relatively new tax relief law.
“Districts are more cognizant of how their money is being spent and where the expenditures are,” Steil said.
As has been the case for the past couple of years, Bristol Township officials are suggesting all district expenses can be covered with a tax increase lower than the index rate.
“We budget wisely and tightly,” explained Superintendent Ellen Budman. “We listen to our community and we empathize with all that they are going through during these difficult economic times.”
The Bristol Township school board is set to adopt a resolution next week promising to keep the increase below the index.
But not all area districts are so sure they will be able to stay below their state-determined index. Bristol and Bensalem, for example, are looking for ways to trim their projected tax rate increase, which initially exceeded what is allowed by the state.
School boards have until the end of January to decide if they need to raise taxes above the index. If they don’t, they have to say so in a resolution. If they do need to go above the index, they have to put the referendum on the May 19 ballot.
A point of contention for many taxpayers in recent years has been that a district’s actual tax rate increase can be more than the index when school systems claim exemptions for some expenses. Those exemptions include previously approved contracts and special education costs, according to Act 1.
The exemptions could potentially add one or more percentage points to the rate of increase allowed in a district’s millage rate.
Steil, the former lawmaker, said the exemptions are needed and they are fair.
“You want the school districts to be responsible for what they can control. Those areas [covered by the exemptions] they cannot control,” Steil said.
He said residents tired of property tax increases need to give Act 1 a chance to work at controlling district spending habits.
“I’m very confident if you will look at the average increases in spending in the five years following Act 1 and compare them to the five years preceding Act 1, you will see some significant changes,” Steil said.
Renovation Blues
From the BCCT.
Some little elementary school, built in 1957, last renovated in 1972, needs to bring the renovation bids under $8 million. For one school? Eight million?
Please! Come to Morrisville! See the Emperor in action! He can renovate a whole DISTRICT for that kind of money. He knows people...
District hopes second round of renovation bids is better
By: AMANDA CREGAN
Tinicum Elementary officials are hoping the price to renovate will be cheaper now.
More contractors are looking for work, and it may just help taxpayers' bottom line.
Palisades School District officials are hoping for better estimates and more of them as they collect new bids for a complete building renovation of Tinicum Elementary.
When the district first advertised the work in April, only one contractor responded, and his bid was $3 million more than the school's $8.1 million estimate. Board members voted against it.
The school has put out a call in the new year for another round of contractor bids for Tinicum building renovations, which include a four-classroom addition and energy-efficient, geothermal heating and air-conditioning improvements.
Palisades facilities manager Dave Keppel is already optimistic.
"There seems to be a lot of interest in the job," he said. "We're just hoping to get a better response from contractors, and with that hopefully better prices."
Built in 1957, Tinicum Elementary houses 256 students from kindergarten through fifth grade.
The Pipersville school hasn't seen any major renovations since 1972, said Keppel.
Contractors' sealed bids are due by Jan. 29, and the school board will later vote to accept the best estimate.
This time around, competitive costs will prove even more crucial as homeowners in the Palisades district are already looking at a nearly $200 tax increase in the 2009-10 school year.
The school board unanimously passed its preliminary budget last week.
The district is facing about a $268,000 drop in revenue, mostly due to a $1 million increase in expenditures and a decrease in real estate transfer taxes.
Palisades' current tax rate is set at 100 mills, but a new rate of 109.894 is needed to cover next year's spending plan.
A mill is a tax of $1 on every $1,000 of a property assessed value.
Under Act 1, which limits how much Pennsylvania schools can raise taxes, Palisades may only increase its mill rate to 104.100.
But with a school construction exception, that rate could be as high as 105.616 mills or a $191 increase for the average homeowner next year.
Some little elementary school, built in 1957, last renovated in 1972, needs to bring the renovation bids under $8 million. For one school? Eight million?
Please! Come to Morrisville! See the Emperor in action! He can renovate a whole DISTRICT for that kind of money. He knows people...
District hopes second round of renovation bids is better
By: AMANDA CREGAN
Tinicum Elementary officials are hoping the price to renovate will be cheaper now.
More contractors are looking for work, and it may just help taxpayers' bottom line.
Palisades School District officials are hoping for better estimates and more of them as they collect new bids for a complete building renovation of Tinicum Elementary.
When the district first advertised the work in April, only one contractor responded, and his bid was $3 million more than the school's $8.1 million estimate. Board members voted against it.
The school has put out a call in the new year for another round of contractor bids for Tinicum building renovations, which include a four-classroom addition and energy-efficient, geothermal heating and air-conditioning improvements.
Palisades facilities manager Dave Keppel is already optimistic.
"There seems to be a lot of interest in the job," he said. "We're just hoping to get a better response from contractors, and with that hopefully better prices."
Built in 1957, Tinicum Elementary houses 256 students from kindergarten through fifth grade.
The Pipersville school hasn't seen any major renovations since 1972, said Keppel.
Contractors' sealed bids are due by Jan. 29, and the school board will later vote to accept the best estimate.
This time around, competitive costs will prove even more crucial as homeowners in the Palisades district are already looking at a nearly $200 tax increase in the 2009-10 school year.
The school board unanimously passed its preliminary budget last week.
The district is facing about a $268,000 drop in revenue, mostly due to a $1 million increase in expenditures and a decrease in real estate transfer taxes.
Palisades' current tax rate is set at 100 mills, but a new rate of 109.894 is needed to cover next year's spending plan.
A mill is a tax of $1 on every $1,000 of a property assessed value.
Under Act 1, which limits how much Pennsylvania schools can raise taxes, Palisades may only increase its mill rate to 104.100.
But with a school construction exception, that rate could be as high as 105.616 mills or a $191 increase for the average homeowner next year.
Four trees; No waiting
From buckslocalnews.com
Does anyone have anything to say about the idea of a dog park in Morrisville? With the financial situation Morrisville is facing, I'd rather see a revenue producing land use. It's going to be placed on dedicated open space, so there was never a chance to have it be revenue producing.
A dog park is a great amenity. New business that didn't involve fingernails or tobacco products would be a great amenity too.
The story mentions that the borough council supports the idea. What revenue producing land uses are they supporting?
< >
Hear that? That's the sounds of silence. Remember this in May at primary time.
Morrisville Borough looks into creating dog park
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Posted on Wed, Jan 7, 2009
About 50 Morrisville Borough residents have come up with a plan to create a fenced-in dog park, which would be located at the corner of Philadelphia and Delmorr avenues.
There's a growing trend for communities to have their own dog parks, according to Ellen Stevie, the coordinator of the project. Stevie noted there are dog parks in Falls Township, Mercer County, N.J., and Horsham.
She said the Friends of the Morrisville Dog Park Committee held its first meeting this week. The group was formed to raise money and solicit funding from area businesses.
The first fundraiser will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at "Four Paws," a doggie day care on the Snipes Farm in Morrisville. Stevie describes the center as a place where your dog can run around for an hour on a cold day.
Participants also can have their dog "microchipped" for $30. The identification chip is placed under the dog's skin in case the animal runs away or gets lost.
In addition, there will be a dog wash and dry. According to Stevie, donations will be taken for the service. Volunteers are needed for the Jan. 18 event.
Stevie first proposed the idea of a dog park four months ago to Morrisville Borough Council and has had their support. The land under consideration was owned by the fire company before the borough purchased it as open space. Located south of Bridge Street about a half-mile from Williamson Park, the site is near the railroad tracks and across from the river.
"It's a win-win situation," Stevie said. "This is privately funded. We're raising all the money. "We're adding an amenity to the town."
Once established, there will be a pen for dogs 35 pounds and under. Any dog above 35 pounds will go in another pen. Rules will be posted, such as "Tend your dog" or "If anything gets out of hand, remove your dog."
The pens will measure approximately 100 feet by 100 feet and 80 feet by 80 feet.
"We need to raise about $12,000 to buy the fencing," Stevie said, "The town has committed to the signage and to maintain the land."
Nancy Sherlock, Morrisville Borough Council president, said she went to the recent grand opening of the dog park in Falls Township. Describing the park as "very nice," Sherlock said she considers a dog park "another amenity for the borough."
Sherlock indicated Stevie's group is "willing to work with us and they're not looking for a handout."
Benches and trees will be added to the riverside site. "We'll make it a place where people can go," Stevie explained." If you own a dog, you have to walk every day."
The dog park would be "good for the dogs physically and socially the dog owners get to socialize, enjoy a cup of coffee and talk to one-another," she asserted.
Morrisville's Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) is also involved in the planning because the land is part of the borough's open space. Council is slated to adopt a resolution about the dog park at its Jan. 13 meeting.
"I see it as a collaborative effort," she added.
Bill Setzer, EAC chairman, said his group will make a recommendation to borough council about the proposed parcel, which he described as "sizeable."
"It's our responsibility as the EAC to look at any issues that involve open space in the borough," he said. "That's why we invited them to our meeting."
According to Setzer, the borough will not be responsible for cleaning up after the dogs.
Meanwhile, Stevie, who has lived in Morrisville for 22 years, said, "It's a great town with a lot of great people." Since she got Yogi, a year-old golden doodle, Stevie has met many more people while she has been outside walking her dog.
According to Stevie, she feels "a real kinship" with her fellow dog owners. "I have come across a lot people who are dog owners) especially since this dog park idea came along," she noted.
Stevie said she would not have met as many people as she has were it not for walking her dog and talking about the dog park project.
"If we have a place to commune in the morning or evening, it's even better. You start seeing the same people," she said.
Of course, Yogi is an important character in Stevie's life. "It's all about Yogi now. I don't have any children. He's my child now," explained Stevie, who drove to Virginia, just to get Yogi.
"When you decide to get a dog you need to be aware of the commitment," she indicated. "That means the dog needs exercise." Walking Yogi means setting aside 1 1/2 to 2 hours of her day, making sure that happens for him."
Walking a dog is "absolutely" a bonding experience for the pet owner and the dog, Stevie concluded.
To donate, make checks payable to Morrisville Borough. In the memo section, put "for dog park." Checks should be mailed c/o Ellen Stevie, 421 North Pennsylvania Ave, Morrisville, PA 19067
Anyone interested in volunteering for the Doggie Wash fundraiser at Four Paws on the Snipes property in Morrisville can call Stevie on her cell phone: 215-630-0115. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Jan. 18.
Does anyone have anything to say about the idea of a dog park in Morrisville? With the financial situation Morrisville is facing, I'd rather see a revenue producing land use. It's going to be placed on dedicated open space, so there was never a chance to have it be revenue producing.
A dog park is a great amenity. New business that didn't involve fingernails or tobacco products would be a great amenity too.
The story mentions that the borough council supports the idea. What revenue producing land uses are they supporting?
< >
Hear that? That's the sounds of silence. Remember this in May at primary time.
Morrisville Borough looks into creating dog park
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Posted on Wed, Jan 7, 2009
About 50 Morrisville Borough residents have come up with a plan to create a fenced-in dog park, which would be located at the corner of Philadelphia and Delmorr avenues.
There's a growing trend for communities to have their own dog parks, according to Ellen Stevie, the coordinator of the project. Stevie noted there are dog parks in Falls Township, Mercer County, N.J., and Horsham.
She said the Friends of the Morrisville Dog Park Committee held its first meeting this week. The group was formed to raise money and solicit funding from area businesses.
The first fundraiser will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at "Four Paws," a doggie day care on the Snipes Farm in Morrisville. Stevie describes the center as a place where your dog can run around for an hour on a cold day.
Participants also can have their dog "microchipped" for $30. The identification chip is placed under the dog's skin in case the animal runs away or gets lost.
In addition, there will be a dog wash and dry. According to Stevie, donations will be taken for the service. Volunteers are needed for the Jan. 18 event.
Stevie first proposed the idea of a dog park four months ago to Morrisville Borough Council and has had their support. The land under consideration was owned by the fire company before the borough purchased it as open space. Located south of Bridge Street about a half-mile from Williamson Park, the site is near the railroad tracks and across from the river.
"It's a win-win situation," Stevie said. "This is privately funded. We're raising all the money. "We're adding an amenity to the town."
Once established, there will be a pen for dogs 35 pounds and under. Any dog above 35 pounds will go in another pen. Rules will be posted, such as "Tend your dog" or "If anything gets out of hand, remove your dog."
The pens will measure approximately 100 feet by 100 feet and 80 feet by 80 feet.
"We need to raise about $12,000 to buy the fencing," Stevie said, "The town has committed to the signage and to maintain the land."
Nancy Sherlock, Morrisville Borough Council president, said she went to the recent grand opening of the dog park in Falls Township. Describing the park as "very nice," Sherlock said she considers a dog park "another amenity for the borough."
Sherlock indicated Stevie's group is "willing to work with us and they're not looking for a handout."
Benches and trees will be added to the riverside site. "We'll make it a place where people can go," Stevie explained." If you own a dog, you have to walk every day."
The dog park would be "good for the dogs physically and socially the dog owners get to socialize, enjoy a cup of coffee and talk to one-another," she asserted.
Morrisville's Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) is also involved in the planning because the land is part of the borough's open space. Council is slated to adopt a resolution about the dog park at its Jan. 13 meeting.
"I see it as a collaborative effort," she added.
Bill Setzer, EAC chairman, said his group will make a recommendation to borough council about the proposed parcel, which he described as "sizeable."
"It's our responsibility as the EAC to look at any issues that involve open space in the borough," he said. "That's why we invited them to our meeting."
According to Setzer, the borough will not be responsible for cleaning up after the dogs.
Meanwhile, Stevie, who has lived in Morrisville for 22 years, said, "It's a great town with a lot of great people." Since she got Yogi, a year-old golden doodle, Stevie has met many more people while she has been outside walking her dog.
According to Stevie, she feels "a real kinship" with her fellow dog owners. "I have come across a lot people who are dog owners) especially since this dog park idea came along," she noted.
Stevie said she would not have met as many people as she has were it not for walking her dog and talking about the dog park project.
"If we have a place to commune in the morning or evening, it's even better. You start seeing the same people," she said.
Of course, Yogi is an important character in Stevie's life. "It's all about Yogi now. I don't have any children. He's my child now," explained Stevie, who drove to Virginia, just to get Yogi.
"When you decide to get a dog you need to be aware of the commitment," she indicated. "That means the dog needs exercise." Walking Yogi means setting aside 1 1/2 to 2 hours of her day, making sure that happens for him."
Walking a dog is "absolutely" a bonding experience for the pet owner and the dog, Stevie concluded.
To donate, make checks payable to Morrisville Borough. In the memo section, put "for dog park." Checks should be mailed c/o Ellen Stevie, 421 North Pennsylvania Ave, Morrisville, PA 19067
Anyone interested in volunteering for the Doggie Wash fundraiser at Four Paws on the Snipes property in Morrisville can call Stevie on her cell phone: 215-630-0115. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Jan. 18.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Archdiocese looks into regionalizing schools
From the BCCT.
Archdiocese looks into regionalizing schools
By: JOAN HELLYER
Area pastors hope to voluntarily have a regionalization plan ready for the 2010-11 school year, officials said.
Local parish pastors are considering the creation of one or more regionalized Catholic grade schools in the next few years.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia asked Lower Bucks County parish pastors to voluntarily investigate possible regionalization, said the Rev. Timothy O'Sullivan, pastor of Immaculate Conception in Bristol Township.
The objective would be to ensure a Catholic education presence in the area while easing the increasing financial stress parishes are enduring to maintain their schools, he said.
As part of that investigation, archdiocese officials have asked the pastors to meet with parishioners to gather feedback. O'Sullivan plans to discuss the regionalization possibility with parishioners tonight during a town hall meeting.
"I'm hoping for a positive meeting with the parish to dispel rumors and to get a feel for what they would hope to see," O'Sullivan said.
Immaculate Conception is part of the archdiocese's Cluster 27. Other churches in the cluster also considering regionalization are St. Ann and St. Mark in Bristol, St. Joseph the Worker and St. Frances Cabrini in Falls, Queen of the Universe in Middletown and St. Michael the Archangel in Tullytown, officials said.
The archdiocese asked the pastors to examine the issue now as most area Catholic schools are experiencing declining enrollments.
Catholic schools with at least 225 students are able to operate with the parish subsidizing between 25 percent and 30 percent of their expenses, O'Sullivan said.
But once enrollment drops below 225, the burden becomes greater on the parish to maintain school operations, he said.
Immaculate Conception, for example, has an enrollment this school year of approximately 175, down about 30 students from four years ago.
The parish is subsidizing about 49 percent of the school's operations this year, O'Sullivan said.
Similar financial scenarios are playing out in other Catholic schools in Cluster 27 where enrollments are at about 170 students, officials said.
Pastors in those parishes also are gathering feedback from parishioners to determine if regionalization is a possibility.
At St. Mark's, for example, the Rev. Dennis Mooney plans to meet with the home and school association, parish council and finance committee.
And at St. Joseph the Worker, the Rev. Donald Birch said parishioners already have indicated to him that they would be interested in somehow regionalizing Catholic schools to preserve their school's presence.
Although the archdiocese did not ask for a mandatory regionalization, pastors of Cluster 27 are aiming to enact some sort of plan by the 2010-11 school year, O'Sullivan said.
The local pastors will meet with archdiocese officials in February to discuss the feedback they've gathered from parishioners and decide where they go from there, he said.
If you go: The town hall meeting at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Bristol Township begins at 7 p.m. It is open to all parishioners, church officials said. Call 215-946-1638 for more information.
Archdiocese looks into regionalizing schools
By: JOAN HELLYER
Area pastors hope to voluntarily have a regionalization plan ready for the 2010-11 school year, officials said.
Local parish pastors are considering the creation of one or more regionalized Catholic grade schools in the next few years.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia asked Lower Bucks County parish pastors to voluntarily investigate possible regionalization, said the Rev. Timothy O'Sullivan, pastor of Immaculate Conception in Bristol Township.
The objective would be to ensure a Catholic education presence in the area while easing the increasing financial stress parishes are enduring to maintain their schools, he said.
As part of that investigation, archdiocese officials have asked the pastors to meet with parishioners to gather feedback. O'Sullivan plans to discuss the regionalization possibility with parishioners tonight during a town hall meeting.
"I'm hoping for a positive meeting with the parish to dispel rumors and to get a feel for what they would hope to see," O'Sullivan said.
Immaculate Conception is part of the archdiocese's Cluster 27. Other churches in the cluster also considering regionalization are St. Ann and St. Mark in Bristol, St. Joseph the Worker and St. Frances Cabrini in Falls, Queen of the Universe in Middletown and St. Michael the Archangel in Tullytown, officials said.
The archdiocese asked the pastors to examine the issue now as most area Catholic schools are experiencing declining enrollments.
Catholic schools with at least 225 students are able to operate with the parish subsidizing between 25 percent and 30 percent of their expenses, O'Sullivan said.
But once enrollment drops below 225, the burden becomes greater on the parish to maintain school operations, he said.
Immaculate Conception, for example, has an enrollment this school year of approximately 175, down about 30 students from four years ago.
The parish is subsidizing about 49 percent of the school's operations this year, O'Sullivan said.
Similar financial scenarios are playing out in other Catholic schools in Cluster 27 where enrollments are at about 170 students, officials said.
Pastors in those parishes also are gathering feedback from parishioners to determine if regionalization is a possibility.
At St. Mark's, for example, the Rev. Dennis Mooney plans to meet with the home and school association, parish council and finance committee.
And at St. Joseph the Worker, the Rev. Donald Birch said parishioners already have indicated to him that they would be interested in somehow regionalizing Catholic schools to preserve their school's presence.
Although the archdiocese did not ask for a mandatory regionalization, pastors of Cluster 27 are aiming to enact some sort of plan by the 2010-11 school year, O'Sullivan said.
The local pastors will meet with archdiocese officials in February to discuss the feedback they've gathered from parishioners and decide where they go from there, he said.
If you go: The town hall meeting at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Bristol Township begins at 7 p.m. It is open to all parishioners, church officials said. Call 215-946-1638 for more information.
Pennsbury: Tentative agreement would extend contract
From the BCCT.
Tentative agreement would extend contract
In Neshaminy, where they’re also negotiating, teachers have worked under terms of an expired contract for several months, officials said.
By MANASEE WAGH and RACHEL CANELLI
One more year?
The Pennsbury Education Association and the Pennsbury school board have reached a tentative agreement to forgo raises and extend the current contract, pay scale and benefit package for one year, officials said Monday.
Both the board members and the more than 800 Pennsbury teacher union members, though, still have to review and ratify the deal, administrators said.
If approved, the contract would take effect when the current agreement expires on June 30. But most teachers would not receive an increase in this time of recession, said board President Gregory Lucidi. Those who are eligible for longevity and educational attainment increases would still receive them, he said.
The newspaper was unsuccessful Monday in reaching union President George Miller for comment.
After one year, the board and the union would return to bargaining for a new, long-term contract, according to district officials.
The district’s previous contract talks in 2005 resulted in a 21-day teacher strike over a salary and benefits dispute. The final solution was a 4-year deal that provided 2.25 to 2.45 percent salary increases and required educators to kick in between 7 and 10 percent toward health care contributions, administrators said.
Before state law required that Pennsbury begin bargaining this month, the school board surveyed the public’s opinion on a contract, officials said.
Pennsbury’s starting salaries are roughly $41,176 and top out at about $98,222. At $77,524, Pennsbury’s average teacher salary ranks within the top 10 of 727 school districts in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Representing Pennsbury’s school board in the talks is Jeffrey Sultanik, a solicitor involved in Souderton’s tense contract negotiations that are in arbitration, administrators said.
In September, teachers in that district went on strike for 15 days partly because their starting salaries are lower than other Montgomery County school districts. But the school board there is concerned because many of its teachers are in the top tiers of the salary schedule, officials said.
Pennsbury and Bristol Township are the only two Lower Bucks public school districts out of eight whose contracts are due to expire in June. Negotiations on a new pact in Bristol Township got under way last week during a preliminary meeting, district spokeswoman Eileen Kelliher said.
Meanwhile, bargaining is scheduled to continue Wednesday in the Neshaminy School District. Educators there have already worked under their expired deal since June, administrators said.
The Neshaminy school board and the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers are still waiting to review health insurance information from Independence Blue Cross, officials said.
The board there wants teachers to start contributing a percentage toward their insurance premiums, while the teachers have so far proposed no change to the current package. Talks are being held with state-appointed mediator Jill Leeds-Rivera, administrators said.
Tentative agreement would extend contract
In Neshaminy, where they’re also negotiating, teachers have worked under terms of an expired contract for several months, officials said.
By MANASEE WAGH and RACHEL CANELLI
One more year?
The Pennsbury Education Association and the Pennsbury school board have reached a tentative agreement to forgo raises and extend the current contract, pay scale and benefit package for one year, officials said Monday.
Both the board members and the more than 800 Pennsbury teacher union members, though, still have to review and ratify the deal, administrators said.
If approved, the contract would take effect when the current agreement expires on June 30. But most teachers would not receive an increase in this time of recession, said board President Gregory Lucidi. Those who are eligible for longevity and educational attainment increases would still receive them, he said.
The newspaper was unsuccessful Monday in reaching union President George Miller for comment.
After one year, the board and the union would return to bargaining for a new, long-term contract, according to district officials.
The district’s previous contract talks in 2005 resulted in a 21-day teacher strike over a salary and benefits dispute. The final solution was a 4-year deal that provided 2.25 to 2.45 percent salary increases and required educators to kick in between 7 and 10 percent toward health care contributions, administrators said.
Before state law required that Pennsbury begin bargaining this month, the school board surveyed the public’s opinion on a contract, officials said.
Pennsbury’s starting salaries are roughly $41,176 and top out at about $98,222. At $77,524, Pennsbury’s average teacher salary ranks within the top 10 of 727 school districts in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Representing Pennsbury’s school board in the talks is Jeffrey Sultanik, a solicitor involved in Souderton’s tense contract negotiations that are in arbitration, administrators said.
In September, teachers in that district went on strike for 15 days partly because their starting salaries are lower than other Montgomery County school districts. But the school board there is concerned because many of its teachers are in the top tiers of the salary schedule, officials said.
Pennsbury and Bristol Township are the only two Lower Bucks public school districts out of eight whose contracts are due to expire in June. Negotiations on a new pact in Bristol Township got under way last week during a preliminary meeting, district spokeswoman Eileen Kelliher said.
Meanwhile, bargaining is scheduled to continue Wednesday in the Neshaminy School District. Educators there have already worked under their expired deal since June, administrators said.
The Neshaminy school board and the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers are still waiting to review health insurance information from Independence Blue Cross, officials said.
The board there wants teachers to start contributing a percentage toward their insurance premiums, while the teachers have so far proposed no change to the current package. Talks are being held with state-appointed mediator Jill Leeds-Rivera, administrators said.
"...harmony, respect and cooperation..."
From the Erie (PA) Times-News.
Odds of this happening in Morrisville: zero
Need for this in Morrisville: 100%
Board eyes new code
BY VALERIE MYERS Published: January 12. 2009 7:15AM
Millcreek school directors hope for better grades in teamwork this year.
A kind of public report card could provide incentive to make that happen.
A proposed code of conduct and board governance standards from the School Board’s Policy Committee spell out not only School Board responsibilities, but also how school directors should behave — and what happens if they don’t. Directors who violate the code could be publicly removed from School Board leadership positions, if the policy is approved by school directors.
The proposal should be ready for board action this month, School Board President Mike Palermo said.
“We’ve hashed this out enough. I think this will come in front of the board at the next meeting,” he said.
The proposed code of conduct charges board members to “work together in a spirit of harmony, respect and cooperation, despite differences of opinion.”
That hasn’t always happened. Disagreements between board members have become personal and gone way beyond common civility, Palermo said.
“We’re going to have heated discussions, but at no time should a board member attack another personally,” he said. “We’ve done that. And we need to step outside of that.”
Under the proposed policy, a school director who believes another member of the School Board has acted inappropriately would complain in writing to the board president, or to the vice president if the complaint concerns the president. Board leaders would mediate the problem and try to resolve it.
Problems that cannot be resolved would be brought before the board at a public meeting. The board would decide if the code of conduct has been violated.
The penalty for a first violation would be a verbal warning from the board. A director found to have committed a second offense would be removed from board office and committee assignments.
“The policy will make us more accountable,” Palermo said. “I am absolutely in favor of it.”
The proposed board standards and code of conduct have been sent to the School Board solicitor for comment and will likewise be given to new schools Superintendent Michael Golde, who begins work in the district today, policy committee Chairwoman Judy Wheaton said.
Inappropriate conduct addressed by the code may be in the board’s past, she said.
“I think this board is finally coming together and has finally recognized our role,” Wheaton said.
Odds of this happening in Morrisville: zero
Need for this in Morrisville: 100%
Board eyes new code
BY VALERIE MYERS Published: January 12. 2009 7:15AM
Millcreek school directors hope for better grades in teamwork this year.
A kind of public report card could provide incentive to make that happen.
A proposed code of conduct and board governance standards from the School Board’s Policy Committee spell out not only School Board responsibilities, but also how school directors should behave — and what happens if they don’t. Directors who violate the code could be publicly removed from School Board leadership positions, if the policy is approved by school directors.
The proposal should be ready for board action this month, School Board President Mike Palermo said.
“We’ve hashed this out enough. I think this will come in front of the board at the next meeting,” he said.
The proposed code of conduct charges board members to “work together in a spirit of harmony, respect and cooperation, despite differences of opinion.”
That hasn’t always happened. Disagreements between board members have become personal and gone way beyond common civility, Palermo said.
“We’re going to have heated discussions, but at no time should a board member attack another personally,” he said. “We’ve done that. And we need to step outside of that.”
Under the proposed policy, a school director who believes another member of the School Board has acted inappropriately would complain in writing to the board president, or to the vice president if the complaint concerns the president. Board leaders would mediate the problem and try to resolve it.
Problems that cannot be resolved would be brought before the board at a public meeting. The board would decide if the code of conduct has been violated.
The penalty for a first violation would be a verbal warning from the board. A director found to have committed a second offense would be removed from board office and committee assignments.
“The policy will make us more accountable,” Palermo said. “I am absolutely in favor of it.”
The proposed board standards and code of conduct have been sent to the School Board solicitor for comment and will likewise be given to new schools Superintendent Michael Golde, who begins work in the district today, policy committee Chairwoman Judy Wheaton said.
Inappropriate conduct addressed by the code may be in the board’s past, she said.
“I think this board is finally coming together and has finally recognized our role,” Wheaton said.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Outrageous benefits come at taxpayers expense
From the BCCT.
Outrageous benefits come at taxpayers expense
Bucks County Courier Times
Your editorial on Pennsylvania state pensions is so true and on target. The cost of the outrageous pension increases that our protected criminal class (a.k.a. the state Legislature) gave themselves in 2001 is coming home to roost. The Legislature took a 50 percent pension increase and gave the teachers, the most influential group in the Legislature, a 25 percent increase as the price for its own increase.
On Dec. 11, Pennsbury's administration provided the board and community with a five-year projection of the district's financial condition using data provided before the latest information from the Teachers' Retirement System estimating that pension costs will be 16.4 percent of salaries in 2012-13 vs. 4.7 percent in the coming year.
The numbers provided by Pennsbury's administration presented the board with frightening options. I have requested a new five-year projection based on the Retirement' System's latest projections and this projection can only be more frightening. The options will be: double-digit tax increases; larger class sizes; draconian cuts in bus service and student activities or some combination thereof.
When these are combined with the ever-increasing unfunded mandates on special education and other things, the money put into educating non-special education children (the average reader's children) will shrink more while the privileged will get their pensions and the legislators will get their lifetime health benefits at no cost.
There are two ways to change this picture. One requires a change in the state Constitution so these outrageous benefits can be scaled back. The other would be for the state to declare bankruptcy. I suppose two more solutions could be a Dow Jones average of 25,000 or a bailout from the federal government. The last two are out of our control.
Many of us will have gone bankrupt along with the state should that be the path. The only reasonable path to help all of us is to change the Constitution so public sector pensions mirror those of the taxpayers. I am not saying that public employees do not deserve pensions but the taxpayer does not deserve being forced into bankruptcy to provide them.
The solution to the problem is in the hands of those who created it. Will the Legislature step up and solve this problem? Not unless each of us forces the issue and demands reform.
Richard B. Johnson
Pennsbury school director Region 3
Outrageous benefits come at taxpayers expense
Bucks County Courier Times
Your editorial on Pennsylvania state pensions is so true and on target. The cost of the outrageous pension increases that our protected criminal class (a.k.a. the state Legislature) gave themselves in 2001 is coming home to roost. The Legislature took a 50 percent pension increase and gave the teachers, the most influential group in the Legislature, a 25 percent increase as the price for its own increase.
On Dec. 11, Pennsbury's administration provided the board and community with a five-year projection of the district's financial condition using data provided before the latest information from the Teachers' Retirement System estimating that pension costs will be 16.4 percent of salaries in 2012-13 vs. 4.7 percent in the coming year.
The numbers provided by Pennsbury's administration presented the board with frightening options. I have requested a new five-year projection based on the Retirement' System's latest projections and this projection can only be more frightening. The options will be: double-digit tax increases; larger class sizes; draconian cuts in bus service and student activities or some combination thereof.
When these are combined with the ever-increasing unfunded mandates on special education and other things, the money put into educating non-special education children (the average reader's children) will shrink more while the privileged will get their pensions and the legislators will get their lifetime health benefits at no cost.
There are two ways to change this picture. One requires a change in the state Constitution so these outrageous benefits can be scaled back. The other would be for the state to declare bankruptcy. I suppose two more solutions could be a Dow Jones average of 25,000 or a bailout from the federal government. The last two are out of our control.
Many of us will have gone bankrupt along with the state should that be the path. The only reasonable path to help all of us is to change the Constitution so public sector pensions mirror those of the taxpayers. I am not saying that public employees do not deserve pensions but the taxpayer does not deserve being forced into bankruptcy to provide them.
The solution to the problem is in the hands of those who created it. Will the Legislature step up and solve this problem? Not unless each of us forces the issue and demands reform.
Richard B. Johnson
Pennsbury school director Region 3
Tough queries likely at pension powwow
From the Inquirer
PhillyDeals: Tough queries likely at pension powwow
By Joseph N. DiStefano Posted on Sun, Jan. 11, 2009
Jeffrey Clay runs the $55 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, which cuts checks worth more than $4 billion a year for retired teachers and other public-school workers.
It's the biggest investment fund in Pennsylvania, which means that, like other investment funds, it's not as big as it was last year.
Clay is starting to gear up for the annual pilgrimage by state agencies to Harrisburg's stone-domed Capitol.
He'll explain to senators and representatives what his staff plans to spend this year, and how much more it will cost the citizens of the state to keep the checks coming to 170,000 school retirees and survivors.
I've gone to those hearings a couple of times. When markets were up, you didn't see tough questions. The reps accepted what they were told by Clay or his counterparts at the State Employees' Retirement System. Though there's always someone who wants to know: If you're doing so well, can we increase benefits to my constituents?
Clay has attended these hearings since he joined PSERS as deputy chief legal counsel in 1990. But at this year's hearings in early March, he's expecting there'll be more than the usual interest. Maybe some sparks.
"My guess is we'll hear about the rate cycle, hedge funds, and the bonus issue," Clay said.
The "rate cycle" means the formula by which this state has chosen to finance public pensions, usually by pushing the expense as far into the future as possible and hoping the market does really, really well next year.
The school pension "employer-contribution rate" is a big deal for PSERS at the moment. The state subsidy is paid partly by state taxes and partly by local school districts. So when the rate goes up, so do property taxes.
The subsidy is currently projected to quadruple, to $2.3 billion a year, by 2011-12. And that assumes markets recover during the current fiscal year.
The losses of hedge funds are in the news, but they are more an issue at PSERS's smaller, more radical twin, the SERS, which has more of its money invested with hedge, private-equity and other alternative investments than any other major pension fund, and hasn't told us yet how much they all lost last year.
As to bonuses, Clay's agency has been beaten up for giving managers $854,000 in bonuses this year, despite the fund's falling 17 percent for the 12 months ended Sept. 30.
The way investment pros look at the world, even though PSERS shrank, it did better than many of its peers. To private-sector fund managers, who are paid a lot more than the civil servants who run PSERS, "relative outperformance" means you did a good job, and deserve something extra.
But to the tax-paying public angry over its own shrinking 401(k) and IRA accounts, a loss is a loss, and Republicans like State Sen. John Rafferty, who represents parts of Chester, Montgomery and Berks Counties, have asked for the bonuses back.
I'm less worried about the thousands PSERS pays its staff than the hundreds of millions it pays outside managers, whose performance is not recorded in its annual reports.
Better to ask how the state plans to either boost subsidies or to cut benefits for future retirees - and why SERS and PSERS should keep trying so hard to boost investment returns, exposing taxpayers to risk, and hiring expensive outside managers to run those assets, if it doesn't have more to show for the effort.
Add the $1 billion teachers pay PSERS in payroll deductions every year - which rises every year with contracted teacher salaries and new hires - plus the $2.3 billion PSERS is supposed to raise from state and local taxpayers by 2011-12, and
we're getting to where the amount spent to finance PSERS each year approaches the amount it spends on pensions.
If those lines cross, why not just scrap all the fancy foreign investments and commodity pools, spend down the existing funds, and pay the checks as they come due?
"There is a pay-as-you-go system," Clay told me. "It's Social Security," and "it's out of control," as the number of retirees explodes, compared with workers paying into the system.
PhillyDeals: Tough queries likely at pension powwow
By Joseph N. DiStefano Posted on Sun, Jan. 11, 2009
Jeffrey Clay runs the $55 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System, which cuts checks worth more than $4 billion a year for retired teachers and other public-school workers.
It's the biggest investment fund in Pennsylvania, which means that, like other investment funds, it's not as big as it was last year.
Clay is starting to gear up for the annual pilgrimage by state agencies to Harrisburg's stone-domed Capitol.
He'll explain to senators and representatives what his staff plans to spend this year, and how much more it will cost the citizens of the state to keep the checks coming to 170,000 school retirees and survivors.
I've gone to those hearings a couple of times. When markets were up, you didn't see tough questions. The reps accepted what they were told by Clay or his counterparts at the State Employees' Retirement System. Though there's always someone who wants to know: If you're doing so well, can we increase benefits to my constituents?
Clay has attended these hearings since he joined PSERS as deputy chief legal counsel in 1990. But at this year's hearings in early March, he's expecting there'll be more than the usual interest. Maybe some sparks.
"My guess is we'll hear about the rate cycle, hedge funds, and the bonus issue," Clay said.
The "rate cycle" means the formula by which this state has chosen to finance public pensions, usually by pushing the expense as far into the future as possible and hoping the market does really, really well next year.
The school pension "employer-contribution rate" is a big deal for PSERS at the moment. The state subsidy is paid partly by state taxes and partly by local school districts. So when the rate goes up, so do property taxes.
The subsidy is currently projected to quadruple, to $2.3 billion a year, by 2011-12. And that assumes markets recover during the current fiscal year.
The losses of hedge funds are in the news, but they are more an issue at PSERS's smaller, more radical twin, the SERS, which has more of its money invested with hedge, private-equity and other alternative investments than any other major pension fund, and hasn't told us yet how much they all lost last year.
As to bonuses, Clay's agency has been beaten up for giving managers $854,000 in bonuses this year, despite the fund's falling 17 percent for the 12 months ended Sept. 30.
The way investment pros look at the world, even though PSERS shrank, it did better than many of its peers. To private-sector fund managers, who are paid a lot more than the civil servants who run PSERS, "relative outperformance" means you did a good job, and deserve something extra.
But to the tax-paying public angry over its own shrinking 401(k) and IRA accounts, a loss is a loss, and Republicans like State Sen. John Rafferty, who represents parts of Chester, Montgomery and Berks Counties, have asked for the bonuses back.
I'm less worried about the thousands PSERS pays its staff than the hundreds of millions it pays outside managers, whose performance is not recorded in its annual reports.
Better to ask how the state plans to either boost subsidies or to cut benefits for future retirees - and why SERS and PSERS should keep trying so hard to boost investment returns, exposing taxpayers to risk, and hiring expensive outside managers to run those assets, if it doesn't have more to show for the effort.
Add the $1 billion teachers pay PSERS in payroll deductions every year - which rises every year with contracted teacher salaries and new hires - plus the $2.3 billion PSERS is supposed to raise from state and local taxpayers by 2011-12, and
we're getting to where the amount spent to finance PSERS each year approaches the amount it spends on pensions.
If those lines cross, why not just scrap all the fancy foreign investments and commodity pools, spend down the existing funds, and pay the checks as they come due?
"There is a pay-as-you-go system," Clay told me. "It's Social Security," and "it's out of control," as the number of retirees explodes, compared with workers paying into the system.
Transfer tax plunge pinching budgets
From the BCCT.
Transfer tax plunge pinching budgets
By: JENNA PORTNOY, Bucks County Courier Times
Bad news keeps coming for local governments and school districts that rely on real estate sales to generate revenue.
Taxes and fees collected by the Bucks and Montgomery counties' recorders of deeds were uniformly down in 2008, according to year-end figures released last week.
"We all know the economy is in a bad situation and that's reflected in the yearly report," said Bucks County Recorder of Deeds Ed Gudknecht.
Every time a property changes hands, the counties' elected recorders of deeds office levies a tax of 2 percent on the property's market value. Of that number, 1 percent goes to the state. The municipality and school district where the property is located split the other 1 percent. This levy is called the real estate transfer tax. A drop in overall sales has meant a dramatic decrease of nearly 20 percent for local governments.
The total transfer tax remitted to Bucks townships and boroughs was down about $4 million in 2008, compared with the 2007 total of $21 million. The same goes for 16 school districts.
In Montgomery County, school districts and municipalities lost $10 million - about 30 percent - in transfer tax collection.
The Hatboro-Horsham School District will bring in about 55 percent less transfer tax, for a hit of nearly $910,000, bringing the 2008 total to about $728,000.
Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds Nancy J. Becker said the school district is far from alone.
"It looks like the economy hit everyone, with an across-the-board decrease in the number of transactions and tax revenue, although the growth areas, such as the North Penn area, were hit the worst financially," she said.
New Hope-Solebury School District took the biggest percentage hit of Bucks' school districts. In 2007, the district brought in more than $1 million, but last year the number nose-dived more than 40 percent to about $600,000.
Gregory Hogg, the district's business administrator, said the number is significant considering current fiscal year revenues should total about $31 million.
"It is going to be reflected in next year's budget because we have to make up for that loss," he said, adding that he will present these and other numbers to the board Jan. 21.
Municipalities, however, have already had to grapple with decreases in various taxes and revenue streams in 2009 budgets passed last month.
Based on monthly transfer tax checks from the county, Doylestown Township predicted within a few thousand dollars that its figure would be down about 30 percent to about $456,000 in 2008.
The 2009 budget anticipates a similarly bleak view, said finance officer Bill Wightman.
"We have a balanced budget and we managed to do it without raising taxes. We knew we were getting less money," he said. "We know that the market out there is not too good."
Dismal sales affected other revenue streams collected by recorders of deeds. For example, in Bucks, about $3.4 billion worth of property changed hands in 2008, compared with $4.3 billion in 2007. Last year's figure represents the biggest drop since 2002.
Interest on the office's various bank accounts was down to about $38,000 last year, compared with four times as much in 2007. Finally, the office recorded 102,199 documents last year, the lowest figure since 1997.
"Times are bad," said Gudknecht, "but we just keep going on and hope things will improve."
Transfer tax plunge pinching budgets
By: JENNA PORTNOY, Bucks County Courier Times
Bad news keeps coming for local governments and school districts that rely on real estate sales to generate revenue.
Taxes and fees collected by the Bucks and Montgomery counties' recorders of deeds were uniformly down in 2008, according to year-end figures released last week.
"We all know the economy is in a bad situation and that's reflected in the yearly report," said Bucks County Recorder of Deeds Ed Gudknecht.
Every time a property changes hands, the counties' elected recorders of deeds office levies a tax of 2 percent on the property's market value. Of that number, 1 percent goes to the state. The municipality and school district where the property is located split the other 1 percent. This levy is called the real estate transfer tax. A drop in overall sales has meant a dramatic decrease of nearly 20 percent for local governments.
The total transfer tax remitted to Bucks townships and boroughs was down about $4 million in 2008, compared with the 2007 total of $21 million. The same goes for 16 school districts.
In Montgomery County, school districts and municipalities lost $10 million - about 30 percent - in transfer tax collection.
The Hatboro-Horsham School District will bring in about 55 percent less transfer tax, for a hit of nearly $910,000, bringing the 2008 total to about $728,000.
Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds Nancy J. Becker said the school district is far from alone.
"It looks like the economy hit everyone, with an across-the-board decrease in the number of transactions and tax revenue, although the growth areas, such as the North Penn area, were hit the worst financially," she said.
New Hope-Solebury School District took the biggest percentage hit of Bucks' school districts. In 2007, the district brought in more than $1 million, but last year the number nose-dived more than 40 percent to about $600,000.
Gregory Hogg, the district's business administrator, said the number is significant considering current fiscal year revenues should total about $31 million.
"It is going to be reflected in next year's budget because we have to make up for that loss," he said, adding that he will present these and other numbers to the board Jan. 21.
Municipalities, however, have already had to grapple with decreases in various taxes and revenue streams in 2009 budgets passed last month.
Based on monthly transfer tax checks from the county, Doylestown Township predicted within a few thousand dollars that its figure would be down about 30 percent to about $456,000 in 2008.
The 2009 budget anticipates a similarly bleak view, said finance officer Bill Wightman.
"We have a balanced budget and we managed to do it without raising taxes. We knew we were getting less money," he said. "We know that the market out there is not too good."
Dismal sales affected other revenue streams collected by recorders of deeds. For example, in Bucks, about $3.4 billion worth of property changed hands in 2008, compared with $4.3 billion in 2007. Last year's figure represents the biggest drop since 2002.
Interest on the office's various bank accounts was down to about $38,000 last year, compared with four times as much in 2007. Finally, the office recorded 102,199 documents last year, the lowest figure since 1997.
"Times are bad," said Gudknecht, "but we just keep going on and hope things will improve."
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Landmark Towns Nominees
From the BCCT.
Nominees sought for Landmark Towns award
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Do you know an outstanding person, business or organization involved with the Landmark Towns projects?
Nominate that person or entity for the first Landmark Towns of Bucks County community achievement awards.
“The awards are intended to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the best people, businesses and organizations in Bucks County whose works complement the mission of Landmark Towns,” said Donna Boone, regional Main Street coordinator for Landmark Towns of Bucks County.
Landmark Towns is a regional revitalization initiative of four boroughs along the Delaware Canal — Bristol, Morrisville, New Hope and Yardley. The project, which is led by the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, is designed to help these small towns renew economic life in their business districts, while preserving and enhancing their industrial and cultural heritage.
“The countless hours that these individuals, businesses and not-for-profit organizations provide significantly contribute to a better quality of life, making the four Landmark Towns better places to live, work and play,” Boone said.
Nominations can be made in several categories, such as Landmark Towns of Bucks County Partner of the Year, Woman in Business, Philanthropy, Economic Development, Cultural/Historic Organization, Community Enrichment and Business Excellence.
Details of each category can be found in the nomination brochures available at the four borough halls or by requesting them from Boone at 2 Canals End Road Suite 204-C in Bristol or calling 215-781-2605.
Nominations are due by Jan. 16. Recipients will receive their awards at a banquet April 29 at the Yardley Country Club.
Nominees sought for Landmark Towns award
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Do you know an outstanding person, business or organization involved with the Landmark Towns projects?
Nominate that person or entity for the first Landmark Towns of Bucks County community achievement awards.
“The awards are intended to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the best people, businesses and organizations in Bucks County whose works complement the mission of Landmark Towns,” said Donna Boone, regional Main Street coordinator for Landmark Towns of Bucks County.
Landmark Towns is a regional revitalization initiative of four boroughs along the Delaware Canal — Bristol, Morrisville, New Hope and Yardley. The project, which is led by the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, is designed to help these small towns renew economic life in their business districts, while preserving and enhancing their industrial and cultural heritage.
“The countless hours that these individuals, businesses and not-for-profit organizations provide significantly contribute to a better quality of life, making the four Landmark Towns better places to live, work and play,” Boone said.
Nominations can be made in several categories, such as Landmark Towns of Bucks County Partner of the Year, Woman in Business, Philanthropy, Economic Development, Cultural/Historic Organization, Community Enrichment and Business Excellence.
Details of each category can be found in the nomination brochures available at the four borough halls or by requesting them from Boone at 2 Canals End Road Suite 204-C in Bristol or calling 215-781-2605.
Nominations are due by Jan. 16. Recipients will receive their awards at a banquet April 29 at the Yardley Country Club.
Pickled??
From the BCCT.
Towns work through economic downturn
By JAMES MCGINNIS
So anxious he couldn’t sleep, Northampton township Manager Robert Pellegrino walked into budget meeting after budget meeting but gave the community only two options — raise taxes or lay off cops.
When people stopped buying homes, the tax on real estate transfers in Northampton fell more than $600,000. Pellegrino said he had “no cushion.”
And if the troubles of Wall Street continue to hit small town Main Street, other towns across Lower Bucks could be in the very same pickle next year.
Communities throughout the area are bracing for significantly lower returns on their investments, less revenue from building permits and fees, and higher costs on everything from insurance to road salt and even bullets. (Some police are paying nearly three times as much for ammunition thanks to the war in Iraq.)
Facing a $1.1 million deficit this year, Bristol Township will draw from a “dangerously low” cash reserve to balance the budget. Township Manager Jeff Bartlett warned that the town could run out of money in two or three years. But Councilman Rick Pluta said he was more worried about the poor. “If we raise taxes,” he said, “that could be someone’s prescription drug bill for the month.”
Bristol Township and its sister to the south seemed polar opposites this budget season. Bensalem will continue to spend big (and offer tax rebates) thanks to $10 million in casino host fees from Philadelphia Park and a $61 million nest egg from the sale of its sewer system. Still, Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo was cautious about the future.
Investments that generated $3.6 million in 2007 will yield only $2.1 million this year, Bensalem finance manager Jack McGinley estimated. Still there’s enough money for the $250 rebate check for the owners of every home in town.
Bensalem started offering its rebates in 2007. The people of Falls will get rebate checks for the first time in 2009 — $100 for every property owner and $50 for every business owner.
But that might seem a pittance compared to the $5,000 “gift” checks headed to all those who own property in Tullytown. Landfill fees will allow the borough to continue to provide the rebate checks and a large number of services this year, according to the budget.
Tullytown property taxes pay for the borough administration but wouldn’t be enough to cover expenses for police, public works or street repairs, as budgeted for 2009. Tullytown’s reliance on landfill income was cause for concern when then-outgoing borough manager Andy Warren presented his budget in October. Landfill income could begin to taper off in two to three years, leaving the borough in a pickle, he warned.
Already pickled, Morrisville — with the third-highest municipal property taxes in Lower Bucks — had to raise them another $70 this year.
When Mayor Thomas Wisnosky found out there wasn’t enough money for new police guns, he gave up his $2,900 salary. Wisnosky said some of the department’s guns were more than 20 years old.
Still some towns are managing to make ends meet. With some of the lowest municipal taxes in the area, Langhorne, Penndel, Newtown, Lower Southampton and Newtown Township will go without a tax increase again this year.
After finally paying off a municipal bond, officials in Bristol wanted to lower taxes this year. But any savings the borough hoped to realize are needed to balance the budget, borough Manager Jim Dillon told his council.
Middletown raised taxes $29 for the average resident to pay off debt.
Lower Makefield raised taxes $10 for the average resident to give more money to the Yardley-Makefield Fire Co. Wrightstown avoided a tax increase, cutting from the budget a $200,000 salt shed.
Even Yardley started the budget process in the hole, but it was hardly dramatic. The borough council announced an $82 deficit, but ended with a budgeted $3.70 surplus. So the community has at least a little money to sock away for 2010.
BIG TICKET ITEMS
Despite the economy, officials in Lower Bucks will spend millions of dollars on big-ticket items this year.
Bensalem will contribute $4.4 million to a planned athletic center adjacent to its high school and $5.5 million to expand the police department.
Falls will spend $2.5 million on a bigger senior center and another $1.2 million for a boat access on the Delaware River near Pennsbury Manor.
Newtown Township will spend $2.6 million on athletic fields and $8 million on a new municipal complex.
Middletown will spend $2.7 million on a new public works building.
Bristol will also spend $2 million on renovations to its police and fire departments, using about $1.6 million in grants.
UPDATED WITH GRAPHIC
Towns work through economic downturn
By JAMES MCGINNIS
So anxious he couldn’t sleep, Northampton township Manager Robert Pellegrino walked into budget meeting after budget meeting but gave the community only two options — raise taxes or lay off cops.
When people stopped buying homes, the tax on real estate transfers in Northampton fell more than $600,000. Pellegrino said he had “no cushion.”
And if the troubles of Wall Street continue to hit small town Main Street, other towns across Lower Bucks could be in the very same pickle next year.
Communities throughout the area are bracing for significantly lower returns on their investments, less revenue from building permits and fees, and higher costs on everything from insurance to road salt and even bullets. (Some police are paying nearly three times as much for ammunition thanks to the war in Iraq.)
Facing a $1.1 million deficit this year, Bristol Township will draw from a “dangerously low” cash reserve to balance the budget. Township Manager Jeff Bartlett warned that the town could run out of money in two or three years. But Councilman Rick Pluta said he was more worried about the poor. “If we raise taxes,” he said, “that could be someone’s prescription drug bill for the month.”
Bristol Township and its sister to the south seemed polar opposites this budget season. Bensalem will continue to spend big (and offer tax rebates) thanks to $10 million in casino host fees from Philadelphia Park and a $61 million nest egg from the sale of its sewer system. Still, Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo was cautious about the future.
Investments that generated $3.6 million in 2007 will yield only $2.1 million this year, Bensalem finance manager Jack McGinley estimated. Still there’s enough money for the $250 rebate check for the owners of every home in town.
Bensalem started offering its rebates in 2007. The people of Falls will get rebate checks for the first time in 2009 — $100 for every property owner and $50 for every business owner.
But that might seem a pittance compared to the $5,000 “gift” checks headed to all those who own property in Tullytown. Landfill fees will allow the borough to continue to provide the rebate checks and a large number of services this year, according to the budget.
Tullytown property taxes pay for the borough administration but wouldn’t be enough to cover expenses for police, public works or street repairs, as budgeted for 2009. Tullytown’s reliance on landfill income was cause for concern when then-outgoing borough manager Andy Warren presented his budget in October. Landfill income could begin to taper off in two to three years, leaving the borough in a pickle, he warned.
Already pickled, Morrisville — with the third-highest municipal property taxes in Lower Bucks — had to raise them another $70 this year.
When Mayor Thomas Wisnosky found out there wasn’t enough money for new police guns, he gave up his $2,900 salary. Wisnosky said some of the department’s guns were more than 20 years old.
Still some towns are managing to make ends meet. With some of the lowest municipal taxes in the area, Langhorne, Penndel, Newtown, Lower Southampton and Newtown Township will go without a tax increase again this year.
After finally paying off a municipal bond, officials in Bristol wanted to lower taxes this year. But any savings the borough hoped to realize are needed to balance the budget, borough Manager Jim Dillon told his council.
Middletown raised taxes $29 for the average resident to pay off debt.
Lower Makefield raised taxes $10 for the average resident to give more money to the Yardley-Makefield Fire Co. Wrightstown avoided a tax increase, cutting from the budget a $200,000 salt shed.
Even Yardley started the budget process in the hole, but it was hardly dramatic. The borough council announced an $82 deficit, but ended with a budgeted $3.70 surplus. So the community has at least a little money to sock away for 2010.
BIG TICKET ITEMS
Despite the economy, officials in Lower Bucks will spend millions of dollars on big-ticket items this year.
Bensalem will contribute $4.4 million to a planned athletic center adjacent to its high school and $5.5 million to expand the police department.
Falls will spend $2.5 million on a bigger senior center and another $1.2 million for a boat access on the Delaware River near Pennsbury Manor.
Newtown Township will spend $2.6 million on athletic fields and $8 million on a new municipal complex.
Middletown will spend $2.7 million on a new public works building.
Bristol will also spend $2 million on renovations to its police and fire departments, using about $1.6 million in grants.
UPDATED WITH GRAPHIC
Toll Bridge Construction *Almost* Done
From the BCCT
New traffic pattern at Route 1 construction zone
Bucks County Courier Times
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has announced a new layout of exit and entry ramps at the Route 1/Pennsylvania Avenue interchange in Morrisville, beginning Monday.
The last interchange segment, the on/off ramps linking Route 1 southbound with the southbound lanes of South Pennsylvania Avenue, will be in place. The other three exit or entry quadrants at the interchange were recently reconfigured as part of the continuing $102 million Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1) Toll Bridge rehabilitation and widening project, said commission spokesman Joe Donnelly.
The only major portion of work that remains at the interchange is the application of a pavement top coat. This will take place later this year when winter is over.
"This project is progressing in a manner that should allow the work to be completed in advance of its original scheduled completion date," said commission executive director Frank G. McCartney.
New traffic pattern at Route 1 construction zone
Bucks County Courier Times
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has announced a new layout of exit and entry ramps at the Route 1/Pennsylvania Avenue interchange in Morrisville, beginning Monday.
The last interchange segment, the on/off ramps linking Route 1 southbound with the southbound lanes of South Pennsylvania Avenue, will be in place. The other three exit or entry quadrants at the interchange were recently reconfigured as part of the continuing $102 million Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1) Toll Bridge rehabilitation and widening project, said commission spokesman Joe Donnelly.
The only major portion of work that remains at the interchange is the application of a pavement top coat. This will take place later this year when winter is over.
"This project is progressing in a manner that should allow the work to be completed in advance of its original scheduled completion date," said commission executive director Frank G. McCartney.
Quakertown: $4.8 Million Shortfall
From the BCCT.
Has anyuone asked the Emperor yet what the 2009-10 budget looks like here at home?
How about the 2008-09 budget?
District budget facing $4.8 million shortfall
By: HILARY BENTMAN
Quakertown school board members got their first look at the 2009-10 budget and it's probably one they'd like to forget.
That's because the dismal economy and declining revenues have left the district $4.8 million in the hole.
The administration is recommending drawing $4.1 million in reserves down to zero to give officials time to make further cuts to not only balance the budget but build up the fund balance again.
"We can't have a budget with negative numbers," said Superintendent Lisa Andrejko.
Officials acknowledge starting with a zero fund balance is a scary proposition, particularly if the money can't be found to replenish the account.
After an early round of cuts, the district is looking at an $87.9 million preliminary budget, which is $3.4 million, or 4 percent, higher than the current $84.5 million budget.
Taxes will certainly increase next year; the question remains by how much.
Under a state-set cap, the district is allowed to increase taxes by 4.1 percent, or 5.14 mills, before seeking voter approval. For a home assessed at the district average of $28,800, that translates to a $148 tax increase, for a total bill of $3,762.
However, Quakertown can exceed this cap without voter permission through exceptions -ways for schools to disregard certain expenses in their budgets, such as construction, retirement and health care costs that contribute to the need for higher taxes.
With its allowable exceptions, Quakertown could raise taxes by about 4.59 percent, or 5.755 mills, which translates to a tax increase of $166, for a total bill of $3,780.
The district has fallen victim to the foundering economy.
Several major businesses within the district, including Lowes and Target, have succeeded in getting Bucks County to reassess their property values because of a decline in their worth. When a property's assessment value drops so does the amount of taxes the district generates.
The district has lost about $125,000 in revenue because of reassessments, said business manager Sylvia Lenz.
New construction in the district has also dropped off, along with home sales, hurting the amount collected in real estate transfer taxes. The district has also seen revenue from earned income tax increase by less than 1 percent, compared with the 3 percent to 5 percent increases seen in previous years, said Lenz.
As for the cuts the district will consider, no area is off the table. Everything from new and vacant staff positions, to technology, facility improvements, class electives and sports will be examined.
"Throughout every level we're going to see reductions," said Andrejko. "Every level is going to have some impact."
Officials will continue to work on the plan with a preliminary budget up for adoption on Feb. 12.
Has anyuone asked the Emperor yet what the 2009-10 budget looks like here at home?
How about the 2008-09 budget?
District budget facing $4.8 million shortfall
By: HILARY BENTMAN
Quakertown school board members got their first look at the 2009-10 budget and it's probably one they'd like to forget.
That's because the dismal economy and declining revenues have left the district $4.8 million in the hole.
The administration is recommending drawing $4.1 million in reserves down to zero to give officials time to make further cuts to not only balance the budget but build up the fund balance again.
"We can't have a budget with negative numbers," said Superintendent Lisa Andrejko.
Officials acknowledge starting with a zero fund balance is a scary proposition, particularly if the money can't be found to replenish the account.
After an early round of cuts, the district is looking at an $87.9 million preliminary budget, which is $3.4 million, or 4 percent, higher than the current $84.5 million budget.
Taxes will certainly increase next year; the question remains by how much.
Under a state-set cap, the district is allowed to increase taxes by 4.1 percent, or 5.14 mills, before seeking voter approval. For a home assessed at the district average of $28,800, that translates to a $148 tax increase, for a total bill of $3,762.
However, Quakertown can exceed this cap without voter permission through exceptions -ways for schools to disregard certain expenses in their budgets, such as construction, retirement and health care costs that contribute to the need for higher taxes.
With its allowable exceptions, Quakertown could raise taxes by about 4.59 percent, or 5.755 mills, which translates to a tax increase of $166, for a total bill of $3,780.
The district has fallen victim to the foundering economy.
Several major businesses within the district, including Lowes and Target, have succeeded in getting Bucks County to reassess their property values because of a decline in their worth. When a property's assessment value drops so does the amount of taxes the district generates.
The district has lost about $125,000 in revenue because of reassessments, said business manager Sylvia Lenz.
New construction in the district has also dropped off, along with home sales, hurting the amount collected in real estate transfer taxes. The district has also seen revenue from earned income tax increase by less than 1 percent, compared with the 3 percent to 5 percent increases seen in previous years, said Lenz.
As for the cuts the district will consider, no area is off the table. Everything from new and vacant staff positions, to technology, facility improvements, class electives and sports will be examined.
"Throughout every level we're going to see reductions," said Andrejko. "Every level is going to have some impact."
Officials will continue to work on the plan with a preliminary budget up for adoption on Feb. 12.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Grant Money Awarded
From the BCCT
Grants announced for emergency responders
Posted in News on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 1:30 pm by James McGinnis
A dozen local fire and ambulance companies will receive grants this year, state Rep. John Galloway announced Friday.
Bristol Fire Company, Bristol Volunteer Company No. 6, American Hose Hook and Ladder, and Bristol Consolidated will each receive about $11,000.
Edgely, Fairless Hills, Falls Township and Levittown, Morrisville and Tullytown fire companies will also receive about $11,000 each.
Bucks County and Levittown-Fairless Hills rescue squads will each receive about $5,000, Galloway said.
“These grants can be used for purchasing equipment, upgrading facilities, training or paying down debt,” Galloway said. “Far too much time is spent by our volunteer first responders raising money.”
Grants announced for emergency responders
Posted in News on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 1:30 pm by James McGinnis
A dozen local fire and ambulance companies will receive grants this year, state Rep. John Galloway announced Friday.
Bristol Fire Company, Bristol Volunteer Company No. 6, American Hose Hook and Ladder, and Bristol Consolidated will each receive about $11,000.
Edgely, Fairless Hills, Falls Township and Levittown, Morrisville and Tullytown fire companies will also receive about $11,000 each.
Bucks County and Levittown-Fairless Hills rescue squads will each receive about $5,000, Galloway said.
“These grants can be used for purchasing equipment, upgrading facilities, training or paying down debt,” Galloway said. “Far too much time is spent by our volunteer first responders raising money.”
Recall the WHOLE Board??
From the LA Times (and thanks for the email tip!)
* The district has just three schools and fewer than 500 students.
* Notorious for political bickering and personal rivalries, the district has run through seven superintendents in the last eight years and 15 school board members in the last five.
Recall election OK'd for an entire school board in Tuolumne County
Tioga High students campaigned to unseat the Big Oak Flat-Groveland board after it got rid of their popular math teacher over an allegation of plagiarism.
By Richard C. Paddock, January 10, 2009
Reporting from San Francisco -- In what may be the first attempt in California to unseat an entire school board, high school students and supporters who want to oust all five members collected enough signatures to put the issue before voters, the Tuolumne County clerk said Friday.
The students organized the recall campaign as a civics project after the board of the Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District voted to get rid of their popular math teacher, a former professional football player.
"We're pretty excited about it," said Tioga High School senior Billy Hilton, 17, one of the student leaders of the recall effort. "I don't think this has happened many other places. We were able to do it because our school and community are so small and tight-knit."
The school board is scheduled to meet next week to receive formal notice that the recall has qualified. The board will have the option of calling the election itself and allowing a vote entirely by mail. The election is most likely to be held May 5, said Tuolumne County Clerk and Auditor-Controller Deborah Russell.
The California School Boards Assn., which represents 95% of the state's school districts, does not keep election records, but staff members said the recall of a school board is uncommon if not unprecedented.
"We can't remember a time when a whole board has been recalled," said Susan Swigart, communications director for the 76-year-old association.
At Tioga High, where the recall campaign began, students were beginning to contemplate campaign activities, including putting together a voter pamphlet and holding a debate among candidates for the board.
Civics teacher Tim King, who helped the students turn their class project into political action, said he was proud of what the teenagers had been able to do.
"I don't think it's really sunk in," he said. "They don't realize what they have accomplished. When was the last time you heard about an entire school board being recalled?"
The sparsely populated district near Yosemite National Park is nearly as large in square miles as the Los Angeles Unified School District but has just three schools and fewer than 500 students.
School board President Lillian Cravens said the campaign to oust the board is in keeping with the community's quarrelsome style. Notorious for political bickering and personal rivalries, the district has run through seven superintendents in the last eight years and 15 school board members in the last five.
"These people are always fighting up here," she said. "They are always threatening a recall. This time they just followed through."
The latest controversy began in September after Supt. Mari Brabbin and the school board removed Ryan Dutton from his job teaching math at Tioga High over an allegation of plagiarism. He also lost his post coaching baseball.
Dutton, 31, who was studying for his teaching credential at Cal State Fresno, was accused of copying another student's homework in March. He denied the charge.
It is unclear how the allegation reached the school district. The university said the allegation was unfounded, but the school board has refused to take Dutton back.
After his removal, the entire student body staged a one-day protest that shut down the high school. Soon after, the students began organizing the recall campaign.
The students have appealed to the school board to rehire Dutton, but the members have declined, saying they trust the information about him that they received in private.
Most of the students are not old enough to vote or collect signatures, but parents and teachers joined in support of the effort. The campaign needed 910 signatures for each school board member and collected about 1,200, easily qualifying for the ballot.
Opponents of the recall have wondered whether the students were being used by some in the community to settle old scores.
School board member David Gookin took the qualification of the recall in stride, saying, "It's the right of the electorate in a democratic process to ask for a recall."
He said he stood by his record but had not decided to what extent he might mount a campaign to retain his post. He has no regrets about Dutton's removal, he said.
"I have no apologies for the action I took as a board member," he said.
Cravens, who was appointed nine months ago and elected president in December, said serving on the school board was a thankless job. Her husband, she said, will be the happiest man in town if she is ousted.
"If I don't get recalled, that's fine," she said. "If I do get recalled, that's fine. I don't see any reason to campaign. People who know me know the truth about me."
Cravens, who was the registrar at Aptos High School near Santa Cruz for 30 years, retired to the Groveland area five years ago. "The sad part of it is they do their best to ruin your reputation," she said. "Now people look at me like I am some kind of thief and monster."
Dutton, who hopes to return to Tioga High and resume teaching math, said he was overwhelmed by the support from the students and community.
"I knew that I had a good relationship with them, but you never think that the kids would rise up and do something of that sort," he said. "I can't say enough about their support. It reiterates for me that this is the right career for me."
* The district has just three schools and fewer than 500 students.
* Notorious for political bickering and personal rivalries, the district has run through seven superintendents in the last eight years and 15 school board members in the last five.
Recall election OK'd for an entire school board in Tuolumne County
Tioga High students campaigned to unseat the Big Oak Flat-Groveland board after it got rid of their popular math teacher over an allegation of plagiarism.
By Richard C. Paddock, January 10, 2009
Reporting from San Francisco -- In what may be the first attempt in California to unseat an entire school board, high school students and supporters who want to oust all five members collected enough signatures to put the issue before voters, the Tuolumne County clerk said Friday.
The students organized the recall campaign as a civics project after the board of the Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District voted to get rid of their popular math teacher, a former professional football player.
"We're pretty excited about it," said Tioga High School senior Billy Hilton, 17, one of the student leaders of the recall effort. "I don't think this has happened many other places. We were able to do it because our school and community are so small and tight-knit."
The school board is scheduled to meet next week to receive formal notice that the recall has qualified. The board will have the option of calling the election itself and allowing a vote entirely by mail. The election is most likely to be held May 5, said Tuolumne County Clerk and Auditor-Controller Deborah Russell.
The California School Boards Assn., which represents 95% of the state's school districts, does not keep election records, but staff members said the recall of a school board is uncommon if not unprecedented.
"We can't remember a time when a whole board has been recalled," said Susan Swigart, communications director for the 76-year-old association.
At Tioga High, where the recall campaign began, students were beginning to contemplate campaign activities, including putting together a voter pamphlet and holding a debate among candidates for the board.
Civics teacher Tim King, who helped the students turn their class project into political action, said he was proud of what the teenagers had been able to do.
"I don't think it's really sunk in," he said. "They don't realize what they have accomplished. When was the last time you heard about an entire school board being recalled?"
The sparsely populated district near Yosemite National Park is nearly as large in square miles as the Los Angeles Unified School District but has just three schools and fewer than 500 students.
School board President Lillian Cravens said the campaign to oust the board is in keeping with the community's quarrelsome style. Notorious for political bickering and personal rivalries, the district has run through seven superintendents in the last eight years and 15 school board members in the last five.
"These people are always fighting up here," she said. "They are always threatening a recall. This time they just followed through."
The latest controversy began in September after Supt. Mari Brabbin and the school board removed Ryan Dutton from his job teaching math at Tioga High over an allegation of plagiarism. He also lost his post coaching baseball.
Dutton, 31, who was studying for his teaching credential at Cal State Fresno, was accused of copying another student's homework in March. He denied the charge.
It is unclear how the allegation reached the school district. The university said the allegation was unfounded, but the school board has refused to take Dutton back.
After his removal, the entire student body staged a one-day protest that shut down the high school. Soon after, the students began organizing the recall campaign.
The students have appealed to the school board to rehire Dutton, but the members have declined, saying they trust the information about him that they received in private.
Most of the students are not old enough to vote or collect signatures, but parents and teachers joined in support of the effort. The campaign needed 910 signatures for each school board member and collected about 1,200, easily qualifying for the ballot.
Opponents of the recall have wondered whether the students were being used by some in the community to settle old scores.
School board member David Gookin took the qualification of the recall in stride, saying, "It's the right of the electorate in a democratic process to ask for a recall."
He said he stood by his record but had not decided to what extent he might mount a campaign to retain his post. He has no regrets about Dutton's removal, he said.
"I have no apologies for the action I took as a board member," he said.
Cravens, who was appointed nine months ago and elected president in December, said serving on the school board was a thankless job. Her husband, she said, will be the happiest man in town if she is ousted.
"If I don't get recalled, that's fine," she said. "If I do get recalled, that's fine. I don't see any reason to campaign. People who know me know the truth about me."
Cravens, who was the registrar at Aptos High School near Santa Cruz for 30 years, retired to the Groveland area five years ago. "The sad part of it is they do their best to ruin your reputation," she said. "Now people look at me like I am some kind of thief and monster."
Dutton, who hopes to return to Tioga High and resume teaching math, said he was overwhelmed by the support from the students and community.
"I knew that I had a good relationship with them, but you never think that the kids would rise up and do something of that sort," he said. "I can't say enough about their support. It reiterates for me that this is the right career for me."
Friday, January 9, 2009
School board declares 'emergency' in Morrisville
From buckslocalnews.com
School board declares 'emergency' in Morrisville
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Staff Editor Posted on Wed, Jan 7, 2009
MORRISVILLE -- In an 8-0 vote, the Morrisville School Board passed a resolution Jan. 5 declaring an emergency and authorizing certain purchases in the wake of the Dec. 13 furnace explosion at M.R. Reiter Elementary School.
Those purchases are contingent on whether or not the insurance company will pay for eight modulars.
A special hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29 about the possible closure of M.R. Reiter forever. The board majority, led by President Bill Hellman, is in favor of closing the school, despite opposition from parents. M.R. Reiter has been closed since the blast.
Paul DeAngelo, the school district's new business manager, told a full house at the special meeting that a report was scheduled to be released at press time about the composition of the soot, which was caused by the explosion.
After the meeting, DeAngelo said the report would tell whether carcinogens were found in the soot. He confirmed that asbestos was confined to the chimney of the furnace.
DeAngelo gave a detailed presentation about how much it would cost to lease eight modulars, which would be installed at Grandview Elementary School.
The board approved the leasing of eight modular classrooms with restrooms from Mobilease Modular Space, Inc. of Thoro-fare, N.J. The total cost over two years would be $433,472 plus the cost for delivery costs to dismantle and return the modulars.
The cost would be $5,760 per month for 24 months plus $6,400 delivery, $98,932 for set-up and $189,900 for utilities.
With the vote approving the modulars, the configuration of which grades will go where will change. Some parents attending the special meeting were concerned that fifth-graders would attend classes at the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School.
Dr. Elizabeth Yonson, superintendent, assured the audience that if M.R. Reiter were to be closed, fifth graders would be segregated from the sixth-graders at the middle/senior high school. But she stressed that a configuration plan is not yet in place because the school board would have to approve one.
Yonson also noted that the Pre-Kindergarten classes, which have been held at the YMCA, could go to the middle/high school. She said this is done in other school districts and that high school students often work with that population.
First-and second-grades would attend class in the modulars. Kindergarten classes would be held in Grandview Elementary. Third-and fourth-grades would remain at the main building at Grandview.
Yonson described the modulars as "very nice" and "great." She noted there would be bathrooms in the classrooms and covered walkways for children. The modulars would be air-conditioned. She said without air conditioning, summer was "unbearable on the second floor of M.R. Reiter."
"There will be new carpeting," Yonson said. "They look absolutely brand new. When you walk in, you would not know you were in a modular."
One parent was concerned about the noise that would be created when the modulars were installed. Yonson said there would be less noise than in the older modulars now at M.R. Reiter.
"We need to do something immediately so our children and teachers have a quality education," Yonson said.
Opening the public comment section was former School Board Member Johanny Manning, who had advocated building the controversial $30-million consolidated school complex. That plan called for housing all grades in one facility.
Manning served on the school board before the new majority took control of the school board after the November 2007 elections. The new majority was part of a slate to stop plans for the school complex. The new board stopped the school from being built.
Saying the current problems with M.R. Reiter were inevitable, Manning asserted that the problem would have occurred regardless of whom was serving on the school board.
"I have to say, 'We told you so,'" Manning said. "We knew that the furnaces were long past their expectancy. I don't want to hear it's a total surprise. It's been happening for years. I say, shame on you!"
Manning said the school year has "truly been interrupted."
She criticized the school board for "spending a half-million dollars not knowing what we will do in a month. If the building is not reopened, how do we change the configuration?"
Yonson said insurance would pay for the modulars, it is not coming from district funds.
Jon Perry, a Morrisville Borough resident, told the audience to continue attending school board meetings. "You really have to keep your eye on this board," he said. Perry added that people should "try to get [board members] to do the right thing."
Perry said the current board majority "forges ahead" with "inadequate information."
School Board Member Bill Farrell said, "I come here month in and month out. It's a circus. Forget what's happened in the past." He said M.R. Reiter was a "time bomb."
One resident said that "all three schools are time bombs."
One idea that was raised was using Manor Elementary School to ease crowding at Grandview because of M.R. Reiter students being placed at Grandview.
However, Mike Fitzpatrick, board solicitor, said the district and the Head Start program have a lease/purchase agreement for 20 years. He said using Manor, which is owned by the school district, would probably not be an option.
Parents asked when teachers would be able to get the rest of their teaching materials. One parent alleged that the teachers were just "babysitting" the children. But, Yonson and Laurie Ruffing, acting elementary principal, said that was not true. Teachers were able to go into M.R. Reiter after the blast to get some of what they needed.
The teachers, Ruffing said, will get additional materials before the clean-up effort at M.R. Reiter is complete.
During the meeting, other parents expressed their concerns about the morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up of students. They said that more crossing guards are needed at the high school for the students' safety.
School board declares 'emergency' in Morrisville
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; Staff Editor Posted on Wed, Jan 7, 2009
MORRISVILLE -- In an 8-0 vote, the Morrisville School Board passed a resolution Jan. 5 declaring an emergency and authorizing certain purchases in the wake of the Dec. 13 furnace explosion at M.R. Reiter Elementary School.
Those purchases are contingent on whether or not the insurance company will pay for eight modulars.
A special hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29 about the possible closure of M.R. Reiter forever. The board majority, led by President Bill Hellman, is in favor of closing the school, despite opposition from parents. M.R. Reiter has been closed since the blast.
Paul DeAngelo, the school district's new business manager, told a full house at the special meeting that a report was scheduled to be released at press time about the composition of the soot, which was caused by the explosion.
After the meeting, DeAngelo said the report would tell whether carcinogens were found in the soot. He confirmed that asbestos was confined to the chimney of the furnace.
DeAngelo gave a detailed presentation about how much it would cost to lease eight modulars, which would be installed at Grandview Elementary School.
The board approved the leasing of eight modular classrooms with restrooms from Mobilease Modular Space, Inc. of Thoro-fare, N.J. The total cost over two years would be $433,472 plus the cost for delivery costs to dismantle and return the modulars.
The cost would be $5,760 per month for 24 months plus $6,400 delivery, $98,932 for set-up and $189,900 for utilities.
With the vote approving the modulars, the configuration of which grades will go where will change. Some parents attending the special meeting were concerned that fifth-graders would attend classes at the Morrisville Middle/Senior High School.
Dr. Elizabeth Yonson, superintendent, assured the audience that if M.R. Reiter were to be closed, fifth graders would be segregated from the sixth-graders at the middle/senior high school. But she stressed that a configuration plan is not yet in place because the school board would have to approve one.
Yonson also noted that the Pre-Kindergarten classes, which have been held at the YMCA, could go to the middle/high school. She said this is done in other school districts and that high school students often work with that population.
First-and second-grades would attend class in the modulars. Kindergarten classes would be held in Grandview Elementary. Third-and fourth-grades would remain at the main building at Grandview.
Yonson described the modulars as "very nice" and "great." She noted there would be bathrooms in the classrooms and covered walkways for children. The modulars would be air-conditioned. She said without air conditioning, summer was "unbearable on the second floor of M.R. Reiter."
"There will be new carpeting," Yonson said. "They look absolutely brand new. When you walk in, you would not know you were in a modular."
One parent was concerned about the noise that would be created when the modulars were installed. Yonson said there would be less noise than in the older modulars now at M.R. Reiter.
"We need to do something immediately so our children and teachers have a quality education," Yonson said.
Opening the public comment section was former School Board Member Johanny Manning, who had advocated building the controversial $30-million consolidated school complex. That plan called for housing all grades in one facility.
Manning served on the school board before the new majority took control of the school board after the November 2007 elections. The new majority was part of a slate to stop plans for the school complex. The new board stopped the school from being built.
Saying the current problems with M.R. Reiter were inevitable, Manning asserted that the problem would have occurred regardless of whom was serving on the school board.
"I have to say, 'We told you so,'" Manning said. "We knew that the furnaces were long past their expectancy. I don't want to hear it's a total surprise. It's been happening for years. I say, shame on you!"
Manning said the school year has "truly been interrupted."
She criticized the school board for "spending a half-million dollars not knowing what we will do in a month. If the building is not reopened, how do we change the configuration?"
Yonson said insurance would pay for the modulars, it is not coming from district funds.
Jon Perry, a Morrisville Borough resident, told the audience to continue attending school board meetings. "You really have to keep your eye on this board," he said. Perry added that people should "try to get [board members] to do the right thing."
Perry said the current board majority "forges ahead" with "inadequate information."
School Board Member Bill Farrell said, "I come here month in and month out. It's a circus. Forget what's happened in the past." He said M.R. Reiter was a "time bomb."
One resident said that "all three schools are time bombs."
One idea that was raised was using Manor Elementary School to ease crowding at Grandview because of M.R. Reiter students being placed at Grandview.
However, Mike Fitzpatrick, board solicitor, said the district and the Head Start program have a lease/purchase agreement for 20 years. He said using Manor, which is owned by the school district, would probably not be an option.
Parents asked when teachers would be able to get the rest of their teaching materials. One parent alleged that the teachers were just "babysitting" the children. But, Yonson and Laurie Ruffing, acting elementary principal, said that was not true. Teachers were able to go into M.R. Reiter after the blast to get some of what they needed.
The teachers, Ruffing said, will get additional materials before the clean-up effort at M.R. Reiter is complete.
During the meeting, other parents expressed their concerns about the morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up of students. They said that more crossing guards are needed at the high school for the students' safety.
Let's Get On Board
From the BCCT.
Anyone have any information on the meeting?
Borough hears redevelopment plan
By: REGIS D'ANGIOLINI
Morrisville caught a glimpse into a possible future Thursday night as its Economic Development Corporation heard a presentation on revitalizing the town's economic landscape.
Brian Miller, of the Miller Design Group of Newtown Township, outlined the state's Transit Revitalization Investment District grant program, which is designed to redevelop older communities surrounding transportation hubs such as train stations.
The grant proposal, if approved by the borough, would see $75,000 contributed by the state with the remaining portion funded by the borough and private donations. The money would pay for scouting of an area for revitalization - designated to be within a half-mile radius of any proposed train station; time and effort researching the area; the public process involved; and creating a management entity for it.
Any area designated for redevelopment would be deemed mixed use, creating a walkable environment with retail businesses, residences and open space.
While SEPTA has stated it has no plans to create a train station along the R7 line in Morrisville, Miller said the study would provide the borough with ammunition to make the case for one.
"They're on a learning curve," Miller said, referring to SEPTA. "They've got a way to go to get themselves around this concept."
A representative from SEPTA was not present at the meeting.
Steve Amend, chairman of the borough's economic development entity, said that if a train station is not in the borough's future the study could be used for a revitalization program surrounding the 127 bus route.
While Thursday night's presentation did not specify an exact location for redevelopment, Miller suggested that revitalization could include upgrades to Pennsylvania Avenue and additional structures created along Bridge Street.
"Communities like yours and Penndel and Croydon have the right to your future," he said. "You have the right to stand up and say we want certain things. I am convinced this program is a keeper."
Anyone have any information on the meeting?
Borough hears redevelopment plan
By: REGIS D'ANGIOLINI
Morrisville caught a glimpse into a possible future Thursday night as its Economic Development Corporation heard a presentation on revitalizing the town's economic landscape.
Brian Miller, of the Miller Design Group of Newtown Township, outlined the state's Transit Revitalization Investment District grant program, which is designed to redevelop older communities surrounding transportation hubs such as train stations.
The grant proposal, if approved by the borough, would see $75,000 contributed by the state with the remaining portion funded by the borough and private donations. The money would pay for scouting of an area for revitalization - designated to be within a half-mile radius of any proposed train station; time and effort researching the area; the public process involved; and creating a management entity for it.
Any area designated for redevelopment would be deemed mixed use, creating a walkable environment with retail businesses, residences and open space.
While SEPTA has stated it has no plans to create a train station along the R7 line in Morrisville, Miller said the study would provide the borough with ammunition to make the case for one.
"They're on a learning curve," Miller said, referring to SEPTA. "They've got a way to go to get themselves around this concept."
A representative from SEPTA was not present at the meeting.
Steve Amend, chairman of the borough's economic development entity, said that if a train station is not in the borough's future the study could be used for a revitalization program surrounding the 127 bus route.
While Thursday night's presentation did not specify an exact location for redevelopment, Miller suggested that revitalization could include upgrades to Pennsylvania Avenue and additional structures created along Bridge Street.
"Communities like yours and Penndel and Croydon have the right to your future," he said. "You have the right to stand up and say we want certain things. I am convinced this program is a keeper."
Bad Economy = Lower Costs?
From the NJ Star-Ledger.
So? Dust off the old K-12 school plans and let's see if it can be built for less money. Stop trying to cram kids into a school that was built for the 1950s and lets have a 21st century school that can accommodate everyone.
Taxpayers save on two school projects
Construction slump leads to cut-rate bids
Thursday, January 08, 2009
BY RUDY LARINI Star-Ledger Staff
The dismal economy does have its bright spots.
The New Jersey Schools Development Authority, the state agency responsible for school construction, is benefiting from a depressed construction market that will save taxpayers nearly $9 million to build two schools in South Jersey.
Eighteen bids were received for the two projects, including a dozen for one of the schools. James Poole, the authority's senior director for procurement and contract services, said the dozen bids was "unprecedented" for a project of that magnitude in his experience with the authority and its predecessor, the Schools Construction Corp.
Kris Kolluri, the authority's chief executive officer, attributed the high number of bidders to a "robust and competitive" construction industry in a depressed economy where residential and commercial development have slowed to a crawl.
"The market conditions have a lot to do with it," Kolluri said. "And the low cost is a benefit that the taxpayers will enjoy."
The project attracting 12 bidders was the Egg Harbor Middle and Elementary School in Atlantic County, whose cost had been estimated at $17.9 million. Yesterday, the authority's board accepted a low bid of $15.2 million by Tamburro Bros. Construction Co. of Millville.
The board also approved awarding the low bid of $21 million by Chanree Construction Co. of Ortley Beach for the Morgan Village Middle School in Camden, a project whose cost had been estimated at $27.2 million.
Both the Egg Harbor school for 364 students and the Morgan Village school for 520 students are scheduled to open in September 2010.
Kolluri also said plans are proceeding to preserve either the full facade or just the tower portion of the 92-year-old Camden High School while building a new $110 million school behind it.
Saving only the tower would cost about $4 million, while restoring the entire facade would cost about $6 million, he said.
The board had held off last month approving a $21 million exterior renovation as part of a $120 million project to modernize the school after questions arose over whether it would be more cost effective to build a new school.
The iconic high school, known as the "castle on the hill," is regarded as an inspirational landmark overlooking the Parkside neighborhood southeast of downtown Camden.
So? Dust off the old K-12 school plans and let's see if it can be built for less money. Stop trying to cram kids into a school that was built for the 1950s and lets have a 21st century school that can accommodate everyone.
Taxpayers save on two school projects
Construction slump leads to cut-rate bids
Thursday, January 08, 2009
BY RUDY LARINI Star-Ledger Staff
The dismal economy does have its bright spots.
The New Jersey Schools Development Authority, the state agency responsible for school construction, is benefiting from a depressed construction market that will save taxpayers nearly $9 million to build two schools in South Jersey.
Eighteen bids were received for the two projects, including a dozen for one of the schools. James Poole, the authority's senior director for procurement and contract services, said the dozen bids was "unprecedented" for a project of that magnitude in his experience with the authority and its predecessor, the Schools Construction Corp.
Kris Kolluri, the authority's chief executive officer, attributed the high number of bidders to a "robust and competitive" construction industry in a depressed economy where residential and commercial development have slowed to a crawl.
"The market conditions have a lot to do with it," Kolluri said. "And the low cost is a benefit that the taxpayers will enjoy."
The project attracting 12 bidders was the Egg Harbor Middle and Elementary School in Atlantic County, whose cost had been estimated at $17.9 million. Yesterday, the authority's board accepted a low bid of $15.2 million by Tamburro Bros. Construction Co. of Millville.
The board also approved awarding the low bid of $21 million by Chanree Construction Co. of Ortley Beach for the Morgan Village Middle School in Camden, a project whose cost had been estimated at $27.2 million.
Both the Egg Harbor school for 364 students and the Morgan Village school for 520 students are scheduled to open in September 2010.
Kolluri also said plans are proceeding to preserve either the full facade or just the tower portion of the 92-year-old Camden High School while building a new $110 million school behind it.
Saving only the tower would cost about $4 million, while restoring the entire facade would cost about $6 million, he said.
The board had held off last month approving a $21 million exterior renovation as part of a $120 million project to modernize the school after questions arose over whether it would be more cost effective to build a new school.
The iconic high school, known as the "castle on the hill," is regarded as an inspirational landmark overlooking the Parkside neighborhood southeast of downtown Camden.
Three Minute Rule Ended
From the BCCT.
I always figured that the eventual successor to the Emperor would end the three minute rule and pry the beeping egg timer from Marlys' hands. It looks like a simple lawsuit fixes it.
New policy ends limit on public comment
By: DANNY ADLER
There will be no time limit on public comment at Northampton's board of supervisors meetings.
And, certainly, there was no time limit in Bucks County court Thursday, as township officials took hours to reach an agreement of sorts.
Bucks County Judge John J. Rufe continued a hearing for one year on a lawsuit filed by Northampton resident and attorney Marvin Gold after the township supervisors agreed to the new board chairman's prohibition on time limits at public meetings.
Gold filed the suit in November after the supervisors' former chairman imposed a three-minute speaking limit on the public. Gold claimed the move was used as "a gag order" on residents with opposing opinions and violated the state's Sunshine Act.
Other residents also have wondered about the rule's freedom-of-speech implications.
After being appointed supervisors chairman Monday, Vincent J. Deon said he would do away with the time limit, barring "extreme circumstances" when there are a large number of residents who want to speak at a single meeting.
The rule was first imposed in September by Supervisor George Komelasky to prevent meetings from going into the wee hours of the morning and to ensure the township conducted all its business. Komelasky was inconsistent in enforcing the time limits during meetings, sometimes letting residents speak longer when fewer people wanted the microphone.
The judge ordered the three supervisors at the courthouse Thursday to get the other two supervisors on the phone and come to some sort of compromise, Gold said. After a two-hour conference call of the supervisors, township solicitor Joe Pizzo said the board agreed to Deon's policy.
"Chairman Deon announced that a policy that had previously been in place under the prior board chairman restricting public comment to three minutes was being lifted. He's doing that on his own volition and it's going to be his policy," Pizzo told the judge.
"It's a 100 percent victory," Gold said outside the courtroom. "All I was seeking was the right to speak for a reasonable amount of time."
Pizzo, though, claimed the case was a moot point "because there's no more time limits." He also noted that he disagrees that a three-minute rule violates the Sunshine Act.
Supervisors Frank Rothermel and Jim Cunningham were also on hand supporting Gold's case. "I'm pleased that reason prevailed," Rothermel said.
Township resident Ed Bailey, a regular at the board of supervisors meetings, was happy.
"I think the outcome is clear and just," he said. "The meetings should go as long as they have to."
The lawsuit stems, in part, from the Sept. 24 supervisors meeting where the limit was put into place.
I always figured that the eventual successor to the Emperor would end the three minute rule and pry the beeping egg timer from Marlys' hands. It looks like a simple lawsuit fixes it.
New policy ends limit on public comment
By: DANNY ADLER
There will be no time limit on public comment at Northampton's board of supervisors meetings.
And, certainly, there was no time limit in Bucks County court Thursday, as township officials took hours to reach an agreement of sorts.
Bucks County Judge John J. Rufe continued a hearing for one year on a lawsuit filed by Northampton resident and attorney Marvin Gold after the township supervisors agreed to the new board chairman's prohibition on time limits at public meetings.
Gold filed the suit in November after the supervisors' former chairman imposed a three-minute speaking limit on the public. Gold claimed the move was used as "a gag order" on residents with opposing opinions and violated the state's Sunshine Act.
Other residents also have wondered about the rule's freedom-of-speech implications.
After being appointed supervisors chairman Monday, Vincent J. Deon said he would do away with the time limit, barring "extreme circumstances" when there are a large number of residents who want to speak at a single meeting.
The rule was first imposed in September by Supervisor George Komelasky to prevent meetings from going into the wee hours of the morning and to ensure the township conducted all its business. Komelasky was inconsistent in enforcing the time limits during meetings, sometimes letting residents speak longer when fewer people wanted the microphone.
The judge ordered the three supervisors at the courthouse Thursday to get the other two supervisors on the phone and come to some sort of compromise, Gold said. After a two-hour conference call of the supervisors, township solicitor Joe Pizzo said the board agreed to Deon's policy.
"Chairman Deon announced that a policy that had previously been in place under the prior board chairman restricting public comment to three minutes was being lifted. He's doing that on his own volition and it's going to be his policy," Pizzo told the judge.
"It's a 100 percent victory," Gold said outside the courtroom. "All I was seeking was the right to speak for a reasonable amount of time."
Pizzo, though, claimed the case was a moot point "because there's no more time limits." He also noted that he disagrees that a three-minute rule violates the Sunshine Act.
Supervisors Frank Rothermel and Jim Cunningham were also on hand supporting Gold's case. "I'm pleased that reason prevailed," Rothermel said.
Township resident Ed Bailey, a regular at the board of supervisors meetings, was happy.
"I think the outcome is clear and just," he said. "The meetings should go as long as they have to."
The lawsuit stems, in part, from the Sept. 24 supervisors meeting where the limit was put into place.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)